Battle of Veii (398 BC)

The Battle of Veii was fought in 398 BC between the armies of Rome and Veii outside of Veii's city walls. Two Roman legions led by the brothers Marcus Furius Camillus and Lucius Furius Medullinus defeated a much larger Etruscan army through the use of clever flanking maneuvers, dealing a massive blow to the Veiians. However, Veii was still too strong to capture, and the Roman armies withdrew to Roman territory as winter set in.

Background
The Roman Republic and Veii were locked in a stalemate during their long war from the 400s to the 390s BC, so, in 399 BC, the Roman general Marcus Furius Camillus led his Legio I Alaudae northwest from Rome and captured the Veiian port of Cisra. Unfortunately, the Veiian army in Cisra, led by the Veiian king Arnthi Spedo, had withdrawn from the city before the siege, reinforcing the garrison in Veii. The Romans were compelled to raise another legion, Legio II Augusta, which was commanded by Camillus' brother, Lucius Furius Medullinus. The two legions mobilized more forces and wintered in Roman territory, and, in the autumn of 398 BC, they both marched on Veii with the goal of bringing the war to an end.

However, Veii was heavily-fortified and had a large city garrison, in addition to Aranth Lausa's large army which was encamped in the city. The two Roman legions marched north until they were outside of the city walls, where they rested in their camps after long marches. The Etruscans sought to exploit the numerical inferiority of the Roman legions by attacking them in their camps; the armies of Aranth Lausa, Arnthi Spedo, and Sethre Tulumnes totalled 4,400 men.

Battle
The Veiian army initiated its offensive against Lucius Furius Medullinus's Legio II Augusta, and the other armies for both sides marched towards the battlefield from different sides to join the fray. Medullinus sought to defeat the small Etruscan force before it could join the larger reinforcement army, but the Veiians opted for a similar strategy; the small Etruscan force would instead attack Camillus' army as it marched onto the battlefield. The Veiian contingent met up with the larger Veiian army as it marched towards Camillus' army, so Camillus arranged his soldiers in a line and ordered them to prepare to hold their ground. Meanwhile, Medullinus' legion pursued the smaller contingent, which would form the Etruscan left flank and rearguard.

The battle began when the larger Etruscan forces charged at Camillus' men, throwing javelins before smashing shields and initiating melee combat. The Veiians made their first mistake when they committed their small army to battle with the main Roman force instead of having them hold off Legio II Augusta, whose flanking maneuver of the combined Etruscan armies saved the day for Rome. Medullinus himself charged into battle with his mounted bodyguards, and the horsemen trampled the Etruscan slingers and skirmishers, who were unprepared for close-quarters combat. Medullinus and his bodyguards ruthlessly pursued the fleeing skirmishers, cutting them down in droves and causing panic among the Etruscan forces. At the same time, Medullinus' legion - consisting of both hoplites and mercenary Latin warriors - charged at the Etruscans from the rear, enveloping them in a battle on two sides. At times, Camillus' legion faltered, and Camillus lost most of his bodyguards in battle. However, Camillus rode behind his men and inspired them to fight on, and only a few Roman units broke and fled. Ultimately, it was the Etruscans who were driven into panic by Medullinus' flanking maneuver, and the Romans decimated Etruscan units until it came to be that a single Etruscan unit would be charged by multiple Roman cohorts. The Etruscans fought hard, but, seeing most of their comrades flee, they decided to flee as well. The Romans pursued the Etruscan soldiers as they fled, with the two brothers and their bodyguards riding down as many of the Etruscans as they could. With the field in Roman hands, the Romans won an unlikely, but close victory.

Aftermath
The Romans drove the Etruscans from the field, and thus saved their legions from destruction. The Romans still had 1,691 troops to the Etruscans' remaining 1,247 troops, but the city defenses of Veii were far too powerful to take on with two depleted legions. The Romans sold their 388 Veiian captives into slavery before returning home as winter set in, resupplying their forces. For the next few seasons, the Roman legions would occasionally campaign in Etruscan territory, only to withdraw as winter set in, or after they realized that the city defenses were still strong. In addition, the war's effect on the Roman economy bankrupted the Republic, and the Romans were unable to pay their soldiers, causing many of them to defect. The heavy losses suffered by Rome and the attrition caused by bankruptcy prevented Rome from fielding adequate legions for the city's conquest.